Cottco ventures into cotton farming

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THE Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) says it has applied for 40 000 hectares of land in Mbire district to venture into cotton farming.
The company, which had hit hard times with its shares being suspended from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2014 after it applied for judicial management, seems to have regained its mojo since it started administering the government’s cotton inputs scheme.
“We have made an application for land in Mbire district so that we can venture into cotton farming,” Benedict Muguri-Gumeni, Cottco’s head of corporate services, said at an investment conference in Mbire recently.
“We are looking at getting around 20 000 hectares in Kanyemba and another 20 000 in Mushumbi where we will do irrigated cotton,” he said.
Muguri-Gumeni said the venture would not affect its out-grower programme.
“There will be no conflict of interest since we will still be able to promote our out-grower schemes while at the same time producing our own cotton,” he said.
“There is vast market for lint globally. If the country is able to produce a million tonnes of lint today, all of it will be bought. Zimbabwean cotton is in demand globally and we are failing to satisfy the market,” he said.
Cotton production in Zimbabwe has been on the rebound since the introduction of government’s input scheme three years ago.
The country’s cotton production had plummeted to 28 000 tonnes in the 2015/16 season, the lowest in nearly two decades, but output bounced back with national deliveries reaching 142 000 tonnes last year.
At its peak in 2013, the country produced 352 000 tonnes of cotton.
Cottco says it has managed to “regain the confidence of farmers by way of re-engagement.
“We have tried to make conditions favourable to the farmer,” Muguri-Gumeni said.
He pointed out that there are issues that should be addressed with regards fairness in the industry and creating a conducive environment for investment.
“The more investors that come into the industry, the more competitive it becomes for the farmer. As long as we have the irregularities it is not viable for any investor to come in other than the government,” he said.
Last year, Cottco came under fire from farmers who were against the company’s push to have its monopoly on cotton marketing restored.
Muguri-Gumeni said the company is targeting to register 45 000 out-grower farmers this season. He said the company also has plans to establish additional ginneries in Mbire to complement the one in Muzarabani, “which cannot absorb the current cotton production”.
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